Firm, director fined a total of S$215,000 for unlicensed estate agency work

SINGAPORE — A company and its director were fined a total of S$215,000 on Wednesday (Dec 21) for conducting property transactions without a licence, the largest fine ever meted out by the court for unlicensed estate agency work.

Franks Property, which is not a licenced estate agent with the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA), was fined S$115,000. Its sole director, Lim Koon Heng, was fined S$100,000, in default of 32 weeks imprisonment, the CEA said on Wednesday.

Lim, 70, and his company were sentenced for three charges, each arising from three sale and purchase property transactions, which included a residential home at Vanda Drive and a unit in Far East Shopping Centre.

The total commission involved in these transactions was nearly S$95,000, the highest amount collected among the unlicensed estate agency work cases that the CEA has prosecuted.

Lim and Franks Property once held a house agent licence issued by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore. After the CEA was formed in 2010, Lim and his company did not register with, nor obtain a licence from, the council, even though all property agencies and agents are required to do so before they can carry out estate agency work.

The CEA on Wednesday advised consumers involved in property transactions to engage only property agencies and agents who are licensed and registered with the council.